by Natalie Ann
That a part of her was lost in the fire that day that she wasn’t sure she’d ever find again, even if she did have the equipment.
It was silly, she knew. A camera was replaceable. There were a lot nicer ones out there than she’d had, or could ever afford. But that camera was everything to her a year ago. To replace it with something of equal caliber would cost almost twice as much. She’d bought it used as it was.
Did she want to take Aiden up on his offer to photograph the food for Fierce? Of course she did. But she couldn’t today or even tomorrow. Probably not even months from now. Even then, would she really be good enough?
Everyone would think he was showing her favoritism again. She didn’t want that. She had no means to prove that was her work without her camera. And no means to buy another one.
The rest of the flight they’d taken in silence. Aiden working on her laptop. Her putting the headset on and watching the movie in front of her. She was just willing this trip to be over with and wondering why, when it’d been the best few days of her life.
She felt Aiden’s hand on hers and looked over. He was smiling at her. His eyes all soft and dewy-like. As if something was going on in his mind. She wished she knew. She wished she could tell him how she really felt.
For now, she’d keep quiet. It was better that way. To just go back to hiding their relationship from the staff, even if many suspected it anyway.
Felt the Same
He’d been back in town for a week now. Thanksgiving was around the corner. His family was gearing up for it. Cade was getting ready to start advertising what would be happening for that week between the bar, the brewery, and the restaurant.
“Can you make a few dishes in advance so I can get some references for the promos that day?” Cade said. “Make sure you write up the names and whatnot. You got all pissy when I tried to describe the dishes last time.”
They were in Cade’s office upstairs right now. “That’s because you can’t use words like delicious and fresh. That’s pedestrian at best.”
“But it’s the truth. Everything was delicious and it’s always fresh.”
Aiden rolled his eyes. Cade could smooth talk a nun into dropping her habit and putting on a bikini if he wanted to, but he couldn’t describe a dish or beer for Fierce with much more than “come and try it.”
“How many things do you want me to make?” he asked.
“As many as you want. I’ll call the photographer and get him here and we’ll just choose the best for advertising and go from there.”
Aiden had kept silent on Nic’s photography, but he just couldn’t do it now. He understood where she was coming from, but decided he needed to take this step. It would be a good move for her and him, he was positive. “I found another photographer.”
Cade looked up. “I didn’t know we needed one.”
“There’s nothing wrong with the one we’ve got, but I don’t feel he really captures my dishes like they should be.”
“It’s just food,” Cade said. Aiden started to growl and stand up. “Sorry. It slipped. Why don’t you guys ever give me any leeway when I say stuff?”
“Because you always say stupid shit.”
“One of us has to,” Cade said, grinning. “The rest of you are all tight asses half the time. Admit it, I liven the family dynamics up.”
He did, but Aiden would never say that to Cade’s face. He’d take that as a reason to do it more often. He always wondered if Cade just pushed their buttons on purpose.
“I’m going to send you some photos right now.” He pulled his phone out and forwarded the email that he’d sent to himself of Nic’s pictures when he was using her computer last week. “Check your email.”
Cade clicked around a bit and pulled them up. “Holy shit.” He swiveled his screen around and showed one picture of the chocolate dripping off a cookie. “Don’t show that to Ella. She’d make you run down and start baking them.”
“Do you understand now?” Aiden asked.
“Be quiet, I’m looking at the rest of them.” Aiden sat there patiently for a minute, then Cade lifted his head. “Okay. I get it. Who is this person? Have you talked to them? Do you know their fees? We have to bring it to the group.”
“It’s Nic.”
“Nic, your girlfriend?”
That was the first time any of his siblings called her that. It felt right. “Yeah. She doesn’t know I’m talking to you about this, though.”
“Why?” Cade asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe she’ll think you’re wondering if she’s a cheap lay trying to get some money off of us to better herself.”
Cade’s face flushed. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“Nope. Maybe you should think twice before you spew garbage out of your mouth so often. I bet that’s why you throw up all the time. You can’t control your gut any more than your words.”
“Ass,” Cade said, but he grinned when he said it. “So that’s really why Nic doesn’t want anyone to know about these pictures?”
“No. Her camera was destroyed in her grandparents’ fire. She hasn’t been able to replace it.”
“Go buy her one,” Cade said.
Aiden narrowed his eyes. “It’s not that easy.”
“It’s just a camera.”
He wanted to wring Cade’s neck. “Like what I do is just food?”
“I get it, I get it,” Cade said, holding his hands up. “So what do you suggest we do?”
“I don’t know. Can we just talk about this tomorrow at the meeting?”
Aiden left Cade’s office and went back to his own office to see his father sitting behind his desk. “What’s up, Dad?”
“Not much. Just wanted to stop in and see how you were doing. I haven’t had a chance to catch up with you since you returned from New York.”
“Not much going on here. Same old same old. I just went up to talk to Cade about a few things.”
“That’s good. You two played nice?”
“I always play nice. It’s Cade that’s the wild card.”
His father laughed. “He gets that from your mother and you know it.” It was sad but true. “Did you enjoy the time away with Nic?”
That was two comments about his relationship with Nic. First Cade calling her his girlfriend and now his father.
Sure, everyone in the family knew they were dating, but it wasn’t talked about openly at work. Or at least downstairs. “I did. She’s never been out of North Carolina. It was an experience for her.”
“She seems like a nice girl.”
“She is,” Aiden said, smiling. “Maybe I should try to have her over the next time we have a family dinner.”
“I think we’d all like that. I know how hard it is for us all to get together, but your mother and I were talking about having a nice dinner this Sunday if we could all arrange it. Brody and Aimee are off. You normally come into work later, but I was hoping Mason and you could squeeze a few hours off. Is Nic scheduled to work?”
“No, she’s off.” He didn’t have to look at the schedule to know. “I’ll talk to her about it later. I think she’d like that.”
His father left and, not thirty minutes later, his mother came marching in. What the hell? Guess he wasn’t meant to get any work done. “Hey, Mom.”
“How was New York?”
This was getting kind of odd. “It was good. I just got done talking to Dad about it.”
“Your father was here? That’s strange. He never said a word to me when he left this morning.”
“Don’t you guys know what the other is doing?”
She laughed at him. “No. We don’t tell each other everything. He said he had errands to run. I said the same thing.”
Aiden guessed after so many years of marriage, it didn’t matter much about the details. “So you came here to talk about New York?”
“Yes and no. I really want to know how things are going with Nic. But New York is part of it. How did you feel
going back?”
“It felt the same as it did all those years ago.”
“You hated it,” she said.
She was the only one that knew the truth. The only one he’d felt like he could confide in during those years. “Pretty much. I’m glad I realized it back then. Now I can look back and know I made the right decision.”
“Did you see that nasty bottled blonde again?”
He laughed. “Crystal was there. She made it a point to seek me out.”
“I’m sure she did. Trying to ride on my baby’s back. She’s lucky I don’t go scratch her eyes out.”
He was going to regret telling his mother about that breakup. Maybe he should have kept some details to himself. Though he told Nic he gave Crystal a few choice words, it was the second time he’d been burned in college. His mother was the only one who knew about the first, so he knew she’d understand about the second.
“She hasn’t changed much. But I have and told her what she could go do with her ideas again.”
“Good for you. How did Nic react?”
“To Crystal? Or the trip in general?”
“Both, but Crystal first.”
“She had the same sentiments as you.” He didn’t need to say anything else, his mother understood by the grin on her face. “As for the trip, it was enlightening.”
“When are you going to tell everyone about your relationship with Nic?”
He didn’t expect his mother to ask that. “It’s not my decision or choice. It’s hers. She’d prefer the staff didn’t know.”
“Bullcrap,” his mother said. Yeah, she and Cade were a lot alike. “Talk her into it.”
“I’m biding my time,” he argued.
“You’re hiding. I think you don’t want anyone to know because you still feel burned from mistake one and mistake two in New York. It’s the past and you need to move on.”
His mother never called either of those women by their names. Mistake one and two, like Doctor Seuss characters, was how they were referred to, usually.
“I’m not hiding. I just don’t want to set Nic off. She has a bit of a temper. You’d know something about that.”
“I do. It’s a good trait to have. Makes her strong. Good genes there.”
His mother was nodding her head up and down like a bobble head. He had too much to do right now to entertain her with his love life. “If you’ve got nothing else pressing, I really need to get some work done. I’ll talk to Nic tonight about Sunday and let you know.”
His mother walked over and kissed his cheek, then left in a hurry.
***
“I’m telling you, Gavin, that boy is the most stubborn one of them all,” she said later that day. “What did you get out of Aiden?”
“How do you know I talked to him?” he asked. He was pouting like one of the kids who just realized they’d gotten caught trying to find their Christmas gifts.
“I have my ways. So…”
“I didn’t get much at all. He knew Nic had Sunday off without even checking the schedule. Said he’d talk to her later tonight. It will be interesting to see how she does around us all together.”
She waved her hand like she always did when she thought someone was talking nonsense. “Nic’ll be fine. She talks to Ella often. Mason is the one she talks to the least, as she doesn’t see him much at all.”
“And Mason probably knows the most about the whole situation since he’s the closest to Aiden. I wonder if she knows the dynamics of the kids.”
“Gavin,” she said, snorting. “Of course she does. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I hate when you get that look in your eye,” he said, frowning at her.
“What look is that?”
“That I’m acting like Cade and speaking without thinking of my words.”
She laughed. “Then don’t act like Cade. Act more like Mason.”
“Then you’d be here all night waiting for me to spit a sentence out.”
“It’s so sad how well we know our kids.”
“They should appreciate that we do,” Gavin said.
“See? You can say smart things now and again.” She stood up, walked over to him, and gave him a hug. “I feel like Aiden is a mule I led to water and once he got his fill, he can’t figure out how to leave the trough.”
“That’s horrible,” Gavin said. “Don’t compare Aiden to a mule.”
“It was bad, wasn’t it? Still. He’s got what he needs right now. He looks so full of something he’s been missing in life, but he just can’t figure out how to take that next step. It’s like the grass is right next to him, but he’s still staring at the water.”
“He’ll figure it out. If not by himself, then with his siblings. Let him be for now. You’ve interfered enough.”
“Me?” she said, slapping his arm playfully. “You went over there asking about Nic today too. Don’t be laying this all on my shoulders.”
“But you found her,” Gavin argued.
“And you should be thanking me for making your end of the work easier.”
He kissed her on the lips. “I’ll thank you right now. Upstairs. Let’s go.”
“Upstairs? Don’t be an old man. The couch is right here.”
Shield of Secrecy
Nic glanced out the window and saw Ella pull up in front of her grandparents’ house. She opened the screen door, picked up her box, and let the door shut behind her. Ella rushed out and got the car door for her, then climbed behind the wheel and pulled away.
“What’s in the box?” Ella asked slowly, trying to peek over the edge, then groaned when Nic lifted the top a little.
“Tiramisu.”
“Why?” Ella asked, her voice taking on a high-pitched whine. It was the first Nic had ever seen Ella anything but calm. “Are you trying to torture me? What did I do to you?”
“Ah, nothing. Aiden said I could bring dessert today. That your mother liked this and I could win some points that way.”
Ella snorted. “You don’t need to win any points with my parents. But you lost some with me just now,” she said, grinning.
Nic laughed. “Sorry.”
“Aiden used to be my favorite. He’s not anymore. He didn’t tell you I’ve got a weakness for chocolate and desserts, did he?”
“I know you like my cannoli and that you’re afraid of clowns. Nothing else.”
“Cade,” she snarled under her breath.
“What?” Nic asked.
“Nothing. Sorry again. It’s been one of those mornings. Anyway, since I’ve got you alone, it’s the perfect time to chat.”
Nic wasn’t sure what she wanted to chat about, but by the look in Ella’s eyes, Nic might need to formulate a fast exit. Too bad she was trapped in the car on the way to the Fierce’s family home.
Aiden was already there and would bring her back to his place later. Guess his mother roped him into cooking for the family gathering and he had to be there earlier than Nic was willing to go. If he’d asked her to help she would have, but secretly she was happy to have the reprieve.
Of course now she was stuck with Ella, who was looking as tough as her last name.
“What did you want to talk about?” Nic asked.
“You and Aiden.”
“I figured,” Nic said. Though the family knew about her and Aiden’s relationship, this was the first time she was going to be on their turf and out in the open where anyone could say anything at any time. No more hiding behind the shield of secrecy at Fierce.
“Are you nervous?” Ella asked.
She didn’t want to be, but also didn’t get that wish. “A little.”
“Good.”
“What does that mean?” Nic asked, her voice whining almost like Ella’s was a minute ago.
Ella laughed. “I’m just messing with you. Seriously though, I’ll say this once. And I said something similar to Aimee. I like you and if you continue to make Aiden happy, I’ll like you even more. If you mess with his head, then you’ll have to deal w
ith me.”
“I don’t have any intentions of messing with anyone’s head,” Nic said, feeling her face fill with heat. Who did they think she was? Ella defended her when Cade made a comment early on about her being a cheap lay, Aiden had told her that. She didn’t understand what this was all about right now though.
“Do you say it to all of Aiden’s girlfriends?”
“Aiden hasn’t had a girlfriend in years. But if there was anyone he was really close to back then, I would have said it.”
Nic took that as a good sign. That, in Ella’s warped way, Nic was accepted into the group. “I’ve got cream puffs in here too,” she said.
“I hate you,” Ella said, then burst out laughing.
***
Aiden was watching the clock and waiting for Nic. Ella was nice enough to offer to pick up Nic for him, but after he agreed, he realized he should have warned Nic that Ella was likely to put her on the spot. Maybe not be so nice. Ella always had a motive for everything she did.
But when the two of them came in laughing, he figured he was just overreacting. Nerves, he’d told himself.
He’d never brought a girlfriend home for a full family function before. Never.
He’d dated over the years, and his family knew of those women. Sometimes he went out with his siblings and such, but this was the first time a woman had made her way to a family function complete with everyone.
“Hey,” he said when she walked over and set her dessert down. She’d wanted to bring something and he knew she’d win points by making his mother’s favorite. Not that he thought she needed points, but he wasn’t taking any chances. If all went well, he planned on telling Nic how he felt later tonight.
“Smells good in here,” she said. “Everyone has abandoned you?”
“They normally do. I’d rather they did though. I’ve got you now to keep me company.”
She reached her arm around his waist and gave him a little cuddle, then turned when he pulled her into his arms for a full-on hug, just loving how tiny she felt against him.
“Don’t be burning my dinner.”